All 20 of the Limestone Coast Landscape Board’s automatic weather stations are now 5G, providing increased mobile device and connection capacity.


The automatic weather station network gathers data from 20 sites across the Limestone Coast and includes rainfall, temperature, humidity, global solar radiation and wind speed and direction.


Calculated indicators include dew point, apparent temperature, growing degree days, chill hours, frost, evapotranspiration, Delta-T, in-crop canopy temperature, and calculated minima, averages and maxima for most data sets.


Limestone Coast Landscape Board Manager Sustainable Landscapes Jason Taylor said the change was good news for landholders.


“Primary producers are seeking as much localised information about the current weather conditions as they possibly can to make critical farming decisions,” he said.


Mr Taylor said timely farming decisions maximised the success of farming practices.


“Timely decisions about when to sow and harvest and apply chemical sprays and fertilisers are critical to productivity success,” he said.


“Understanding the weather in real time aligns the use of resources, such as water, to sowing or planting, whether for crops or supporting revegetation and habitat corridor establishment.


“Equally, we can minimise our use of pesticides by ensuring they are effective at the time of spraying when it is least likely to rain.


“Reducing our impact on resources can maximise the efficiency of farming practices for productivity, the environment and long term sustainability of a primary production enterprise.”


The real time weather information is freely available for land managers and can be accessed by visiting www.landscape.sa.gov.au/lc/land-and-farming/weather-stations.